Do you ever doubt how dry your wood needs to be?

Hey guys

Hiram: yes I do have friends with lots of land. My problem is that I don't have a truck : I am dependent on others to help assist me in getting the wood to my place (some $$ and beer helps). RIght now I have 4 cords of nice maple cut (not yet split) waiting for me in someone else's yard. I only have 1.5 acres of land at the moment (it was a steal of a deal: water view for $9500). And with the price of land climbing it's not letting me buy more.

I do, however, have 3 cords of soft wood cut on my land already. It just needs to be split and will be more than dry by next winter.

I have a friend that doesn't even have a wood stove in his house. He has one in his garage and it runs 24/7 from october until may. He has a tempo garage with 15 cords of wood in it! He loves having plenty on hand and it's anywhere from 3-5 years old. He laughs because sometimes people come to him in the winter and ask for wood (since they run out): then it becomes the perfect storm for a high price: the cost and demand. He sometimes sells a cord for $300. He only cuts wood for fun when he's not busy. LOL. That's why I say it's money in the bank: what you don't burn you can sell. With electricity the same can't be said.

UGH. I got my house too hot last night. 26C in the basement and 22-23 upstairs. I can't sleep in heat

Andrew

Many fail to realize wood doesn't begin to season when the tree is cut down.
Wood only seasons once it's cut to length, split and stacked. Moisture can't get out of log lengths quick enough in a year for good seasoning. Also, if the cut and split pieces are left in a giant pile, air and sun can't always get at all of it for proper drying.

When buying wood, don't just ask when it was cut or if it's seasoned....ask when it was cut to length and split, and how it was stored.

Mr. Kelly said:

Do you ever doubt how dry your wood needs to be?

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No

elmoleaf said:

Also, if the cut and split pieces are left in a giant pile, air and sun can't always get at all of it for proper drying.

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What's your definition of giant pile? 10-15 cord piles dry just fine for me. This really depends on the site.

Swedishchef said:

Hey guys

I only have 1.5 acres of land at the moment (it was a steal of a deal: water view for $9500). And with the price of land climbing it's not letting me buy more.

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In some areas, that's a lot of land!

But That's a great deal....$

I'm sitting on 1.675 acres and have right around 14+ full cords of cut/split/stacked in 3 rows of pallets and various racks . The longest is around 60 feet.

(I'm only about 20 minutes from Windsor,Ontario)

PapaDave said:

I'm beginning to think that those wishing to use a wood fuel stove should have to acquire "dry wood", before actually being able to buy the stove.

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Well, then, I guess we fall into that catagory at I started scrounging wood in '08 but our Oslo wasn't installed until last week. We are 'burning beautiful' here with no wood problems.

Shari

Shari said:

PapaDave said:

I'm beginning to think that those wishing to use a wood fuel stove should have to acquire "dry wood", before actually being able to buy the stove.

Click to expand...

Well, then, I guess we fall into that catagory at I started scrounging wood in '08 but our Oslo wasn't installed until last week. We are 'burning beautiful' here with no wood problems.

Shari

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I think I am in love . . .





















with Shari's woodstove in her avatar. I'm assuming that's your stove Shari.

By the way, welcome to the Brotherhood and Sisterhood of the Church of the Burn Only Seasoned Wood in Your Woodstove and You'll Be a Much Happier Person. Next week our Guest Speaker/Pastor will be Brother Quads . . . the week following will be Brother Dennis.

firefighterjake said:

Shari said:

PapaDave said:

I'm beginning to think that those wishing to use a wood fuel stove should have to acquire "dry wood", before actually being able to buy the stove.

Click to expand...

Well, then, I guess we fall into that catagory at I started scrounging wood in '08 but our Oslo wasn't installed until last week. We are 'burning beautiful' here with no wood problems.

Shari

Click to expand...

I think I am in love . . . with Shari's woodstove in her avatar. I'm assuming that's your stove Shari.

By the way, welcome to the Brotherhood and Sisterhood of the Church of the Burn Only Seasoned Wood in Your Woodstove and You'll Be a Much Happier Person. Next week our Guest Speaker/Pastor will be Brother Quads . . . the week following will be Brother Dennis.

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Yup, FFJake, that is our 'newest family member'. The building inspector was here today and said it was a beautiful install. He asked me some questions (not many) but I supplied a lot of info regarding the install (insulated pipe, 3 screws on each section, koawool bockoff on top and bottom, etc.). We might still move the stove out a bit but will have to revamp the hearth in order to do so. He complimented me on my knowledge of how to correctly install a stove but I really have to pass that compliment back to the members here where I learned so much since joining hearth.com in Oct 2008. All my reading here paid off in spades with our install - it just took awhile stuffing that piggyback to get enough money to do it right and to purchase the right stove for our needs.

Shari

i bought my stove then got on the forum......
oh well, @ least i know how a chimney fire works

i have gas backup & pretty much burning neighbors trees only @ this point

i'll have to get a splitter & start burning drier wood, (greener if you think about it)

Like I've already said, I knew Shari was going to be happy when she kept gathering wood and still did not have a stove. There is a very wise lady indeed.

firefighterjake said:

Shari said:

PapaDave said:

I'm beginning to think that those wishing to use a wood fuel stove should have to acquire "dry wood", before actually being able to buy the stove.

Click to expand...

Well, then, I guess we fall into that catagory at I started scrounging wood in '08 but our Oslo wasn't installed until last week. We are 'burning beautiful' here with no wood problems.

Shari

Click to expand...

I think I am in love . . .





















with Shari's woodstove in her avatar. I'm assuming that's your stove Shari.

By the way, welcome to the Brotherhood and Sisterhood of the Church of the Burn Only Seasoned Wood in Your Woodstove and You'll Be a Much Happier Person. Next week our Guest Speaker/Pastor will be Brother Quads . . . the week following will be Brother Dennis.

Click to expand...

Jake, you had me worried there for a second until I scrolled down to the end of your post.
And Shari, unlike myself, you seem to have done pretty much everything right.
I didn't even know I was doing things wrong at first, then sorta got a clue, then got on here which confirmed the clue, which was that I was clueless.
So many things like that in life, eh?

The general rule of thumb is 15-20% moisture. Fresh cut wood can have up to 50% moisture.